Iran says ticket allocation withdrawn days before start of World Cup
Iran's football federation said on Tuesday that its ticket allocation had been pulled just days before the World Cup starts, leaving supporters who had already made travel plans unable to attend their team's matches.
In a statement, the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (FFIRI) said it had already begun ticket sales for the matches but could no longer provide tickets to fans.
"This is despite the fact that many Iranian football fans, relying on the officially announced process, had already made the necessary plans to attend the matches," FFIRI added in a statement.
"This development raises serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organisation of the world's biggest football event."
Each participating federation at the World Cup receives eight percent of the tickets for each of their matches to be allocated to fans according to their own criteria.
The FFIRI did not say who had made the decision to withhold the tickets but urged Fifa to adhere to "the principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations" and called on it to prevent off-field issues from casting a shadow over the tournament.
Fifa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
